Hive Philippines Travel and Nature Photography #275 - by Allmonitors

#275 - A good day to everyone, I hope you are all doing well. Crypto market was red but hopefully it will bounce back once again to higher highs. Hive made a partnership with Stakingrewards recently so that is a good news for us all. Hive is getting more exposure regardless of the market action.

Allow me once again to share some shots of our travel and this time about Lumiang Cave which is located in Sagada Mountain Province. The area is with an elevation of 1500+ meters, so the temperature here is even colder than in Baguio City. Travel time from Baguio to Sagada via bus is with in 7-8hours depending on the traffic and also the speed of the bus. The Halsema highway is the highest road in the country and also the most dangerous especially when it is raining, so extra careful is needed for drivers going up and down Sagada.

On our first day of stay in this rural town, upon our arrival we asked the information office for a guide who can help us navigate the Lumiang cave which will be out entry point and we will exit out of Sumaguing Cave about a kilometer of distance navigating underground according to our guide. Both the cave are interconnected underground so it takes some time about two hours before we can exit to the other end of the Sumaguing Cave.

Our guide was very courteous and knows his way of words towards tourists. We have one thing in common, we both speak Ilocano which is one of the dialects mostly spoken in the north of the country.

He brought a couple of flashlights and also a this old school lamp which is very reliable. We also used this kind of lamp back in the day in our province hometown. Up to now, it is still a reliable source of light at night and in darkness. It just needs kerosene and you can pump it and will last for hours.

Above or on the ceiling of the cave are small noises we can here. There was also this kind of odor you can smell in the air which is produced by the bats excrements. The ceiling was too high ligh three storey building in height, but I still tried to see if my camera and its flash can reach there and see if the bats can be recognized in photos. Here are some shots with a low quality output.😁 When I zoomed in, it gets darkers though.

Inside the interconnected caves are bodies of water or small streams or rivers. Some are within waste and some are about five foot deep. Our guide said it even gets deeper when it rains because the cave gets flooded by water so caving is not allowed when there are days of continuous rains. Good thing the rain was over like couple of days ago before we arrived, hence we were allowed to go to the cave.

The limestone rock formations inside the cave are enormous. These formations were develop over decades and even hundreds of years. It is good that the cave is maintained well and without any vandalism.

We asked our guide to take our photo here. Behind us is one of the limestone rock formation which is formed by rain water. This rock is one of many rock formations that can be found inside the interconnected caves. Noticed my shirt is wet right about my chest? That was how deep is one of the rivers we passed by. Good thing we brought some waterproof container for our wallets, camera and phones.

If ever you plan to visit Sagada in the future, don't forget to try spelunking the interconnected caves. It is a great adventure. The water is cold already and even gets colder once you get wet chest deep. Your physical strength particularly the upper body will be tested because there are spots where you have to crawl and climb. A very exciting adventure awaits everyone who wish to visit the caves. Til next time.😊

Follow me on my nature travels.
Shot taken in Sagada Mountain Province, Philippines.

Image/s were shot using Panasonic Lumix ZS110. ~rex